Matthew 6:22

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus speaks to his followers during the Sermon on the Mount, directly after instructing them to store up treasure in heaven rather than on earth. He shifts from financial devotion to spiritual perception by using physical sight as a metaphor for moral focus.

The words — The supplied Greek terms include ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmos) for eye and λύχνος (luchnos) for lamp. The text states plainly that the eye functions as the body's lamp, and that good eyes result in the whole body being filled with light.

The thread — Luke 11:34 records the same eye-as-lamp metaphor but diverges by adding a contrasting clause about darkness when the eye is bad. The theme of guarded focus appears in the warning against mind-altering deception in 2 Corinthians 11:3 and the call to undivided sincerity in Colossians 3:22.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to identify the single object of their devotion, since that focus dictates their entire moral condition. It demands a practical audit of priorities, as the chosen direction determines whether one's life operates in clarity or obscuration.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

Cross-references

Luke 11:34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness.
2 Corinthians 11:3 I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
Colossians 3:22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
Acts 2:46 With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,